KARACHI: Pakistan Railways has dismissed two engineering officials after an inquiry into last year’s fatal collapse of a pedestrian bridge at Khanewal Railway Station found negligence, authorities said on Tuesday.
The disciplinary action follows an investigation ordered after a section of a pedestrian footbridge at Khanewal Railway Station, a key railway junction in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province that connects routes between the country’s north and south, collapsed in May 2025, killing a railway employee and injuring a female passenger. The accident renewed concerns about the condition and maintenance of aging railway infrastructure across the country.
According to a statement issued by Pakistan Railways, former Divisional Engineer (DEN) Multan Abid Razaq and former Assistant Engineer (AEN) Khanewal Raja Yousaf were dismissed from service after investigators determined their responsibility for the incident.
“In the inquiry report, negligence and responsibility of the relevant officers have been determined,” the railways ministry said.
The ministry said the investigation was launched on the instructions of Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi, who had announced action against those responsible shortly after the accident.
“The railway minister had made it clear that no leniency would be shown where loss of human life was involved,” the statement said.
The ministry said the inquiry had now been completed and the case brought to its “logical conclusion” following disciplinary action against the officials found responsible.
“Accountability will continue and there will be no compromise on negligence and incompetence,” the minister said, according to the statement.
The footbridge collapse occurred on May 30, 2025, when a section of the structure gave way at the station. Local media reported at the time that the bridge was more than a century old and had shown signs of deterioration.
Pakistan’s railway network, one of the country’s largest public transport systems, still relies heavily on infrastructure dating back to the British colonial era. While successive governments have pledged to modernize the network and improve safety standards, accidents and infrastructure failures have continued to raise concerns about maintenance and oversight.
